Boulder Community Health Names New President/CEO

The Board of Directors of Boulder Community Health (BCH) has appointed Dr. Robert J. Vissers to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of BCH, effective July 24, 2015.

An experienced leader with more than 25 years of clinical and health care management experience in academic and community hospital settings, Dr. Vissers will succeed David Gehant, who will retire after 27 years as the President/CEO of BCH.

Ric Porreca, Chair of the BCH Governing Board, stated that the Board is enthusiastic about having Dr. Vissers lead the BCH network during this critical time in health care. “Rob’s experience as a clinician and administrator assures our community that BCH will continue to be a strong and comprehensive health care system with a consistent patient-centric orientation.”

A board-certified emergency physician, Dr. Vissers is currently the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice-President of BCH. In that role, he oversees all clinical operations at BCH, an integrated regional health system with facilities throughout Boulder and Broomfield counties. He also chairs the governance committee for the CU Sports Medicine and Performance Center, a partnership between BCH and the University of Colorado Medical School, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Friends of Colorado Hospitals and the Clinical Excellence Council for the Colorado Hospital Association.

Dr. Vissers was retained as Chief Operating Officer by BCH in May of 2014 after a national search for candidates was conducted by the Board, physicians and senior management of the BCH network.

Dr. Vissers was born in Canada where he completed medical school and the residency program in Emergency Medicine at the University of British Columbia. He has an MBA from Oregon Health & Science University/Portland State University.

Dr. Vissers came to BCH from Legacy Health, a non-profit health system based in Portland, Oregon. During his tenure there, he took on several leadership roles that achieved significant operational, quality and safety improvements. He also was President and CEO of Northwest Acute Care Specialists, one of the largest independent physician groups in the northwest.

“Rob has an outstanding background as both a successful health care administrator and a nationally known emergency medicine physician,” said David P. Gehant, current President/CEO of BCH. “During his tenure at BCH, he has impressed me with his leadership and his deep personal commitment to improving clinical services. His unique skill set will be invaluable in helping BCH and our physicians adapt to the many challenges of national health care reform.”

Dr. Mark King, BCH Medical Staff President, emphasized the support of the medical staff for this appointment and described Dr. Vissers as a far-sighted physician leader who has already established great credibility within the community. “He is the right person to lead BCH into the future and secure our position as a premier health care network.”

Dr. Vissers looks forward to leading the only independent health system in Boulder County.

“BCH has outstanding physicians, nurses and support staff who are genuinely committed to a shared goal of being recognized as one of the top health systems in the country,” he said. “It’s an honor to lead such a talented organization.”